Not scientific, but my experience is that the tone you describe means the pickups are overly hot for that guitar's natural tone.

Buying for a brand name isn't necessarily the best way to go about it, sorta like shopping for the nicest-looking box. I'd recommend GFS pickups on price alone, like under $40 for most models. (I've got friends who swear by Artec, too.) The site's become a pain to navigate, but some digging might be worthwhile --http://www.guitarfetish.com/Humbucker-Sized_c_578.html

Specifically, consider the "Vintage 59."

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Classic output levels- wound like a good solid set of late 50's PAF's- 8.5-8.8K for the Bridge, 8.0-8.2K for the neck. Vintage construction with classic bobbin shape and size, Formvar 42 gauge enamel wire, Nickel polepieces and adjusting screws- All thoroughly wax impregnated with BEESWAX

The most common answer to his problem is to build a new harness for the wiring, specifically using some cts pots and some high quality caps. To make the tone brighter, I would suggest Orange Drop caps (22 in the bridge pickup and 15 in the neck). This should be cheaper than pickups, and should be the fix you are looking for.

FWIW, I did both the harness and pickups for my HB32, a darker sounding guitar than the HB35. The pickups were DiMarzio Air Classic neck and the DiMarzio MoJoe in the bridge. The MoJoe is very hot compared to stock, but it is not muddy due to the harness.